


Flight into Egypt: Making a Home

by Vickiemoseley



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 19:01:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16290038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vickiemoseley/pseuds/Vickiemoseley
Summary: Series that takes place directly after The





	Flight into Egypt: Making a Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second story in the series

Title: Flight into Egypt: Making a Home  
Author: Vickie Moseley   
Spoiler: William, The Truth, a whole bunch of Season   
8 and Pilot  
Summary: Series that takes place directly after The   
Truth. Mulder and Scully have William with them and   
are making a life for themselves in Montana.  
Category: RST, A, H  
Rating: Still PG folks. Use your imagination  
Disclaimer: Chris, Frank and John couldn't figure   
this one out, so I did. I'm using all their stuff,   
but I'm not making any money.  
Archives: yes  
Series note: This is the second story in the series   
Flight In To Egypt. It might help if you read the   
first one.   
Dedication: First of all, thank you all for the   
wonderful reception the first story received. It   
gave me the encouragement I needed to do this story.   
I hope to continue with this series for a while.   
This story is dedicated to everyone who sent me all   
the kind words in the last few days. Thank you!  
Notes of geographic clarification: If you look on a   
map and can't find either Alexandria or Mt. Airy,   
that's because I made them up. If you find a town   
with either name, well, this isn't that one.   
Feedback: Heck yes, I love it!   
vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com 

Flight In To Egypt: Making a home  
By Vickie Moseley   
vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com

He was having such a pleasant dream. Mulder was   
lying on a wisp of a cloud, Scully showering soft and   
hot kisses all over his chest. As his dream took   
focus, he saw that he wasn't on a cloud but a raft,   
one of the inflatable kind, and they were in the   
middle of a tranquil lake. The kisses were getting   
more urgent, more hungry and he rolled on his side,   
so that he could return her attention. Scully moaned   
in his mouth and he allowed his tongue to glide   
between her lips and stroke the soft skin of her   
palate.

And then a scream of some unknown beast caught in a   
trap on the shore caused a panic to grip his heart.   
He hugged Scully closer to him and was confused when   
she fought against his arms.

"Mulder, he won't shut up until I get him."

Mulder couldn't imagine what she was talking about.   
They were naked on the raft, she didn't have her gun.   
How could she possible think she was going to the aid   
of some wounded and potentially violent wild animal   
when they were both safe in the water?

"Mulder, it will only take a minute. Maybe I can get   
him to go back to sleep," she said and pushed herself   
out of his arms.

The cold air hitting his chest woke him up all the   
way. He searched his surroundings and realized he   
wasn't on a raft in a lake, they were in the motel   
room they'd found the night before. And the wounded   
violent beast was currently attached to his lover's   
breast, sucking for all he was worth, and then some.

Mulder dropped back down to the pillow and sighed.   
So much for wake up sex. But the kid made one hell   
of an alarm clock. He squinted at the clock on the   
nightstand and was amazed to discover it was only a   
little after 5 in the morning.

"We have to get you some solid food, William," Scully   
was saying in that baby talk way. Not so much baby   
talk as talking slower, enunciating the words more   
clearly, talking to their son. Mulder found it   
endearing and annoying all at the same time and felt   
like kicking himself for any negative thoughts. This   
was their son, they had been certain he was lost to   
them. There should not be an angered, negative or   
even just annoyed thought in any connection to this   
precious bundle.

Scully drew the baby down on to the bed, laying him   
between his father and herself. William was happily,   
and sloppily suckling at her breast and the look of   
pleasure and contentment on her face was more than   
worth the price of admission, Mulder decided. He   
rolled on his side toward them and stroked the baby's   
downy soft hair, then leaned over and kissed the   
crown of his tiny head, in much the same way he'd   
been kissing the baby's mother for years.

"If he were eating more solids, he wouldn't want to   
nurse as often," Scully said, this time speaking in a   
normal voice. He almost wished she'd said it in the   
baby voice again. 

"If that's what you want. I think he likes it this   
way," Mulder noted and grinned.

"Well, he is his father's son, after all," Scully   
shot back with a gleam in her eye.

"I'm not too selfish to share," Mulder volleyed   
across the court, and their son.

"You were certainly getting frisky before his little   
wake up call," Scully commented casually and licked   
her lips in a manner that almost sent Mulder clawing   
the walls.

"Keep that up, and he sleeps in the car," Mulder   
growled.

"Babies do take naps, Mulder. And sometimes, well,   
God did make bedroom doors with locks for a reason,"   
she pointed out.

Mulder took a second to suppress any lustful thoughts   
that imagine stirred in his mind. Finally refocused,   
he looked across at her again. "OK, here's the deal.   
We get some grown up breakfast, at a more reasonable   
hour, and then see about getting some portable and   
baby oriented food. Then we head out."

"Any idea where we're heading?" she asked. "Just   
outside Helena is a pretty big place."

He screwed up his forehead and thought for a minute.   
"Ever hear of a place called Alexandria?"

"We're going to Egypt?" she asked with a raised   
eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but it's only as far as   
Montana. Alexandria is an old mining town, tucked in   
the mountains."

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. "Did   
they . . . did Ahab . . .?"

He sighed. He didn't want this to come between them.   
It wasn't like that, his visitors weren't ignoring   
her but she didn't seem to understand. "Scully, it   
just popped into my head, while I was sleeping. No   
body came by with a note or anything. Just a   
voicemail on my subconscious this time."

She nodded, and seemed a little relieved. William   
was snoring quietly between them. 

"He's asleep," Mulder said in a whisper.

She smiled at him. "So I noticed."

"Think he might sleep through if we decided to take a   
shower together?"

"Getting environmental in your old age, G-Man?" No   
sooner than the words were out of her mouth did she   
want to grab them in mid air and cram them back in.   
"Mulder, I'm sorry . . ."

He'd already rolled over and was picking up the baby   
to put him in the crib.

"Sorry about what, Scully?" he said, trying to make   
himself believe it hadn't hit him right in the gut   
when she'd called him by her old nickname for him.

"I didn't mean . . ." She stopped because she was   
only making it worse. He hadn't been with the FBI   
for a year now, they both had to get used to that   
fact. She decided on a different tact. "Race you to   
the bathroom. Last one in doesn't get any shampoo,"   
she challenged and was out of bed before he could   
object.

They did manage to sneak in a shower and were dressed   
and had coffee by the time William woke for the   
second time that morning. Scully had decided some   
yogurt with bananas wouldn't harm him and he seemed   
to concur heartily. William finished off a six-ounce   
container and then Scully nursed him for a chaser.   
He was a very contented little man by the time the   
family was packed up and heading for the car.

They arrived at the nearest grocery store and headed   
straight for the baby aisle. After restocking the   
fast depleting diaper supply, Mulder met up with   
Scully as she searched the shelves of jars and cans.

"This says junior food," Mulder commented.

"He is a junior, Mulder. Well, mostly. He has four   
teeth." Mulder thought he heard her mutter something   
about having the marks to prove it, but he decided   
against asking her to elaborate.

"So he needs stuff to chew, right? Let's get him   
some pretzels."

She gave him the raised eyebrow and he knew he'd made   
the wrong suggestion.

"Since he's not driving, let's get him some beer to   
wash down the pretzels," she said with arms folded   
across her chest.

Mulder was glad they'd already had their shower   
together and contritely pulled down a box marked   
'Teething Biscuits' from the top shelf. The rest of   
the shopping trip was uneventful.

The teething biscuits wore him out and soon William   
was sleeping peacefully in his car seat. His mother   
had a map of Montana unfolded on her lap and was   
running a finger down the list of towns and cities as   
his father drove the car down the interstate.

"Mulder, there is no Alexandria on the map," she said   
with a frown.

He shook his head. "Scully, it's a little town."

"How little can you be and still have a name?" she   
asked pointedly.

"Look, I have a pretty good idea where I'm going.   
Just watch for State Route 14 going north and I'll   
find my way from there."

"I hope you didn't get directions from my father,   
Mulder. He once got lost on Michigan Avenue in   
Chicago," she told him, refolding the map precisely   
as it had been unfolded.

"That's not that hard, Scully. Chicago is a big   
place."

"We were looking for Lake Michigan. It was three   
blocks away."

Mulder thought that over and chewed nervously on his   
lip. "Maybe he's gotten better on the other side,"   
he offered and brought his attention back to the road   
before them. It occurred to him that she seemed to   
be taking these spiritual encounters better all the   
time. He smiled over at her and she smiled back at   
him.

The population sign boasted a whopping 124 people,   
but Scully was willing to argue that number. There   
were only a dozen houses that she could see and one   
very lonely post office. At least Alexandria had a   
zip code, she sighed to herself, but didn't voice her   
opinion. If this was where Mulder thought they would   
be safe, she was willing to give it a try. 

"So, where do we find a place to live?" Scully asked.

Mulder pulled up to one of the four parking places in   
front of the post office. "Might as well try in   
here."

She crawled into the back and pulled a playful and   
sticky William out of his car seat. On instinct, she   
reached for the diaper bag and grabbed a handful of   
wipes to clean some of the melted biscuit off the   
baby's skin before it totally encased him in cement.   
They arrived inside a several minutes after Mulder.

"Nobody's lived there since old Jimmy moved to the   
nursing home. I know his kids would sure be happy to   
know there's somebody out at the place. It's kinda   
tucked away, but with four-wheel drive, you shouldn't   
have much trouble. The way the road curves, don't   
get much blowing snow in the winter, either. You   
should be fine out there. Oh, hello, ma'am. Mighty   
fine lookin' boy you got there," the elderly   
postmistress was rambling on to Mulder and then   
Scully.

Mulder quickly introduced the postmistress as Millie.   
"Do you need references?" he asked, pulling out a   
checkbook Scully recognized as coming from a box in   
his bottom drawer. The box contained all of Mulder's   
family albums and it was one of the only things she'd   
kept from his apartment. Now she was doubly glad she   
had remembered to pack it.

The postmistress laughed. "You must be from back   
east. No, sonny, we don't need references. If your   
money is good, we're square. Just keep the place   
tidy, 'cause the coydogs can get feisty. There's a   
reward if you shoot one, by the way. Fifty dollars a   
pelt. I pay it off cash, I have an account with the   
Department of Natural Resources."

"Coydogs?" Scully muttered near Mulder's shoulder and   
hugged the baby closer to her. Her partner chose to   
ignore her comment.

"That's one month's rent and one month security   
deposit, correct?" he said, handing over a check.   
Scully caught the name on the account. G. Ellery   
Hale. She chewed on her lip and wondered what her   
name was. She was pretty sure they would have to   
call William something else, too.

The elderly woman smiled broadly. "Now, the nearest   
store is fifteen miles up the state road, in Mt.   
Airy. They should have everything you need. Once   
you get settled in, we'll see about getting the   
utilities and cable switched to your name. For now,   
just don't run up a big phone bill and you can use   
the phone that's up there. Jimmy's been paying to   
keep it on, in case one of his kids decided to move   
home again. Electric and gas are still on so the   
pipe's don't freeze up."

"Internet access?" Mulder asked hopefully.

"Just phone line for now. With luck we might get   
cable internet in the next three to four years. I   
got one of those free sign up discs from AOL if   
you're interested," the old woman winked. "They have   
a local access number." 

"I already have an account, thank you," he said with   
a suppress grin.

She looked at the check and the rental agreement   
Mulder had already signed. "Well, I guess that's it.   
I'll see that your mail is forwarded," she added with   
a smile. "You pick it up here."

"I doubt we'll have much. We keep pretty much to   
ourselves," Mulder told her.

"Except for that publisher, right?" she asked with a   
wink.

"Of course, except for him," Mulder covered.

"Well, good luck with the book, Mr. Hale. And Mrs.   
Hale, you enjoy that mountain scenery. I'd love to   
look at your paintings some time."

"That would be nice," Scully said with feigned   
delight. She'd speak with him about her 'occupation'   
when they were settled for the night.

"How long has this place been vacant, Mulder?" she   
asked as they walked to the car.

"Jimmy broke his hip in March, Scully. He's been in   
the nursing home ever since. Three months, no   
longer. The place can't have fallen apart in three   
months," he huffed.

"And this came to you the same way as the rest of   
this adventure?"

He shot her a look but was relieved to find her   
smiling. "Yes. And it was the only rental property   
available in Alexandria."

"I hope this one was your dad's call, Mulder. My dad   
thought base housing was 'real nice'."

"I'm not getting a very positive picture of your   
father, Scully. In the past, you only focused on the   
good things," he teased.

"He was a wonderful father, but he had his flaws. He   
had a hard time accepting his children's decisions.   
He had no sense of direction unless he had a sextant   
in his hands. And he was more in tune to decorating   
his cabin on the ship than picking out real estate."

"Your parent's place in Baltimore . . ."

"Mom bought that while Dad was at sea," she said   
lightly.

Mulder thought on that for a moment. No more running   
off, he decided then and there. 

The trip to the house took about fifteen minutes but   
was well worth the time. The road was paved, well   
maintained and the view from the car window was   
absolutely spectacular. Mulder was feeling pretty   
sure of himself as the rounded the corner and when he   
saw the house, even at a distance, he knew they were   
in the right place.

'Jimmy's place' was a two-story clapboard house,   
surrounded by aspen and pine trees. A small brook   
ran a little ways from the side of the house, jumping   
over and around glacial boulders. The mountain rose   
up out the backyard to shadow the house in the late   
afternoon. Mulder was certain the sunrises were   
going to be fantastic.

He stopped the car and immediately got William out of   
his car seat. The baby laughed and clapped at the   
birds bathing themselves in the cement birdbath in a   
circle of summer flowers. A front porch spread the   
length of the front of the house, a swing hung to the   
far left and Adirondack chairs were arranged to the   
right of the centered front door.

Mulder turned and found Scully standing by the car,   
hand to her mouth.

"Scully?" he called to her. She wasn't moving,   
seemed to be almost in a trance. The baby was   
hitting him on the nose, he grasped the child's hand   
to stop him and called to his partner again.   
"Scully, are you OK?"

"It's beautiful, Mulder," she choked. "It's more   
than I ever dreamed."

"Well, we haven't seen the inside yet," he reminded   
her with a smile. He walked back to take her hand in   
his. "I'd carry you over the threshold, but my hands   
are full." 

He handed her the key with one hand and she carefully   
unlocked the door. For the whole walk up to the   
house, she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.   
It was beyond her hopes, her dreams. Just a week ago   
she'd been mired in despair, desolate over giving   
their son up for adoption, wondering if she would   
ever see Mulder again. Now, she was standing on the   
front porch of their new home, watching him play   
peekaboo with William. She was waiting for the alarm   
to go off, for the sunlight to finally hit her in the   
face and force her to wake up from this wonderful   
dream.

"Scully. I think he's dripping," Mulder said with a   
grimace as he pulled his hand away from William's   
bottom.

"Oh, sorry, I'll get the door open," she said,   
shaking off her musings. The door was made of solid   
wood with an elongated oval window in the middle that   
was covered with a lace curtain. The wood stuck a   
little on the side but finally opened and the trio   
went inside.

It was dark inside, because the drapes were drawn.   
It took them a minute to adjust to the sudden change   
in light. Mulder fumbled along the wall by the door   
and found a light switch. Illumination was instant.

They were in a small foyer, with a staircase to the   
left that led up four steps, turned on a landing and   
continued up to the second floor. The banister and   
railings were white and had a colonial look to them.   
The newel post was well worn and shiny on the top.   
The floor in the foyer was hard wood, but the stairs   
were carpeted.

"We'll need to get a baby gate," Mulder pointed to   
the steps. Scully smiled at him affectionately. He   
was a wonderful father already and he'd only been at   
it a day.

Scully walked into the living room, through an arched   
opening from the foyer. It was a spacious room, with   
a double hung window that had been visible from the   
porch. She instantly felt at home. A glass-enclosed   
fireplace with a hearth made of stone dominated the   
right hand wall of the room, bookcases built into   
each side running from floor to ceiling. There was   
an oriental rug on the floor, showing it's age around   
the edges, but clean and definitely functional. The   
walls were a pale peach color. She smiled when she   
considered how her own furniture would have fit like   
a glove in this room.

It hit her with the suddenness off a freight train.   
Everything was gone. Her furniture. Her mother, her   
brothers, her nephews, her sisters-in-law. All gone.   
Her work, her life, everything she had left behind.   
The pain of loss was almost unbearable. Her entire   
life was two thousand miles away and she could never   
go back again.

"Hey, Mom, look at us!" Mulder called to her from   
the archway to the foyer. William was standing on   
the floor with Mulder leaning over him from behind.   
The baby's chubby fingers were wrapped in a death   
grip around Mulder's index and ring fingers of both   
hands. With a white-toothed grin, William bounced a   
couple of times and then took a step, then another.

All her pain vanished in that one instant. Days   
later, when she had some time to reflect on that   
moment, she would see it for what it was: Her birth   
to her new life. Yes, it was warm and safe to live   
her old life. It was familiar like an old bathroom,   
tattered and faded and with the pocket ripped off.   
But this new life, this new birth was something she   
thought she could never have, something she had   
stopped dreaming of. She could never give it up,   
never.

She laughed though tears were sliding down her   
cheeks. "Look at you! Look at you walk, William!   
Come to Mommy. C'mere my sweetie, come to Mommy,"   
she cajoled as she crouched on the oriental with arms   
open to embrace him. Mulder duck-walked him over to   
her, grinning the whole time. 

"This was all his idea. He kept squirming like he   
wanted down. He did all the work. We're gonna have   
to stay up late and get up early to keep ahead of   
this guy, Scully!" Mulder looked like he would burst   
with pride. 

"Yes. Indeed we will, Mulder. Indeed we will," she   
said hugging her baby for dear life. She stood up on   
tiptoe and kissed her partner on his lips. "But I   
can't think of two people better suited for the   
task."

He pulled her into another kiss. "What were you   
thinking about?" he asked, his eyes full of concern.

She looked up at him, feigning ignorance. "About?   
Nothing. Nothing. Except how we're going to have to   
get some furniture," she said waving a hand around   
the bare room.

He gave her a look and for a heartbeat she thought he   
was going to call her bluff. But then his eyes   
sought hers and she knew the discussion was   
postponed, but not totally avoided. He quickly   
turned around in a circle, swinging William in his   
arms.

"I don't know, Mom. Less stuff to get knocked over   
and broken this way, huh Sport?"

She shook her head. "Mulder, if this is any   
indication, I don't think there is any furniture in   
the house. That could cause a problem."

Mulder turned his attention back to her and grinned.   
"We won't know until we finish exploring, now will   
we?"

The dining room boasted a window seat looking out   
onto a copse of aspen. Scully drew in a breath and   
imagined how beautiful the view would be in fall when   
the leaves were turning. The dining room led into a   
kitchen with enough space for a small dinette near   
the windows that look out on the same trees as the   
dining room. At least there were all the modern   
appliances, a nice sized side-by-side refrigerator,   
water and ice in the door, and a gas range with a   
microwave on top of the range hood.

"Propane, tanks out back," Mulder told her.   
"Probably better in case the electricity goes out."

He had relinquished William to his mother so he, as   
the man of the house, could roam free and   
unencumbered through the cupboards and pantry.   
"Possible mouse problem," he said, holding up a trap   
with a desiccated carcass.

She wrinkled her nose. "More traps, gotcha. Hey, we   
need a list."

"Scully, we need every thing. We just need to walk   
up and down the aisles and buy one of everything in   
the store," Mulder shot back. "Hey, I'm checking out   
the upstairs."

"I'll be right there," she told him and wandered over   
to the back door. Her heart surged when she saw the   
tall oak with a swing just steps from the back porch.   
"We'll have to put baby swing on that list Daddy   
doesn't want to make," she told William seriously.   
Then she tickled him just to hear him giggle.   
Laughing together, they went to find Mulder upstairs.

The found him in the first room on the left of a   
hallway that ran the width of the house. 

"I want this room for us," he told her. He pointed   
out the window and she could see it pointed east, and   
had a good view of the road they'd arrived on. She   
nodded in enthusiasm.

"Bathroom is across the hall. Look what I found," he   
told her excitedly. He pushed open a door just down   
from 'their' room and ran into the middle. "Cowboys,   
Scully! Can you believe it?" The wallpaper,   
obviously picked for a little boy or boys, was   
cowboys on horses with lassos and horseshoes forming   
the border around the top of the room. "Is this   
great or what?"

"Guess we better add a hobby horse to that list,   
William. When in Rome, as they say," she whispered   
to the little boy, who giggled again because her   
breath had tickled his ear.

"And look over here," he called to her from the room   
directly across from 'the corral'. She swung the   
baby to her other hip and doggedly followed her   
partner.

"Check out the view of the mountain. Doesn't get as   
much sun as the other room, but with a few well   
placed lamps, this can be our office," he told her.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "For writing your   
book?" she asked. She was under the impression they   
were hiding out, and needed to make their cover story   
as realistic as possible.

"For stopping an alien invasion, Scully. We know the   
date, we have time to prepare."

It caught her a little below the belt. "Mulder, we   
have a child, we can't just . . . "

"Scully," he said, pulling her to him and resting his   
chin on the top of her head, then giving it a gentle   
kiss. "I would never suggest we go running off and   
endanger William. I'm talking about doing what we   
can, which I think will be considerable. We have to   
do something, Scully. If the planet falls to them,   
we wouldn't be safe here, either. And I don't want   
to give him just ten years. I want to give him a   
lifetime."

Her heart squeezed in apprehension at his words but   
she understood why he felt it was necessary. 

"OK, this is the office," she said slowly. She   
tilted her head up and kissed his lips. Between   
them, William pushed at them both and then started   
pulling at Scully's top.

"I think it's time for dinner," Mulder said dryly. 

"We're going to try some more solid food, big boy.   
Then you can nurse before bedtime," Scully told him. 

The car seat made a great highchair, and soon William   
was contentedly playing with the toys that his father   
had been so considerate to pack for him. Mulder and   
Scully decided to eat what they had left from their   
stop at the grocery store, mostly crackers, a coupled   
of bottles of tea, slightly warm, and some apples.

"Not exactly haute cuisine," Scully said, cleaning up   
the wrappers. "Note to self: Garbage can," she   
muttered to herself as she stuffed the trash into one   
of the empty bags.

Mulder was going through the drawers of the cabinets   
in the kitchen. "Pay dirt," he yelled and pulled out   
a well-thumbed phone book.

"I'm pretty sure we aren't on any pizza delivery   
routes, Mulder," she told him, wiping her hands on a   
spare spit-up cloth she'd found in the diaper bag and   
had pressed into service as a cleaning rag.

"In the wonderful metropolis of Mt. Airy, Scully,   
there are no less than two furniture stores, a   
consignment shop that specializes in furniture and,   
hold your breath . . . a SuperWalmart!"

"Be still my heart," she mocked him. "But where does   
that leave us tonight?"

"I see a roaring fireplace and an oriental rug in   
your future," he said in a silky voice as he   
encircled her waist with his hands.

"And our little dynamo here?" she asked directing his   
gaze to where William was pounding the floor with a   
plastic toy hammer.

He chewed on his lip. "The porta/crib thing should   
work, right?"

"You are the man of my dreams," she told him and   
kissed him soundly. 

They lay nestled together on the floor by the fire.   
William was asleep in the corner of the room, away   
from the windows and any possible chilly draft or   
bouncing embers. They'd tired each other out as soon   
as the baby had been tucked in for the night. Mulder   
had found a forgotten quilt and it was covering them   
both, warming their naked bodies. Scully turned her   
head into the crook of his arm and sighed. Mulder,   
not really awake or completely asleep, watched the   
fire through half closed eyes.

"Would you do me a favor?"

Mulder jerked at the sound of the voice in the still   
room, then looked down at Scully to see if she'd   
heard it, too. She was sound asleep in his arms,   
undisturbed.

He looked up and saw Captain Scully standing next to   
the fireplace.

"Please don't tell me we have to leave," Mulder   
begged the vision. "She's so happy here. And it's   
hard on the baby, constantly on the road."

The Captain shook his head. "That's not why I'm   
here. You're safe here. The mountains will protect   
you. No, I have another favor I need to ask you."

Mulder nodded mutely.

"Marry her." And the vision disappeared.

"Wait. Come back. She really wants to see you,   
can't you let her see you, just once," Mulder called   
to the darkness which had filled in the spot where   
the Captain had stood. "Damn it," he cursed. It was   
going to be hard explaining that one. Could this   
have been a dream, a real dream? He had to admit it   
was exactly what he wanted but she'd always refused   
the idea. 'We are married everywhere it counts,   
Mulder' she'd told him just a week before William had   
entered the world. If she wouldn't marry him before   
the birth of their child, what would make her do it   
any other time? He sighed and stared into the fire   
until sleep finally found him.

Scully must have gotten up at the first squawk   
because Mulder found himself wrapped in the blanket   
alone in the living room when morning sunshine fought   
its way through the lace curtains. He stretched,   
getting the kinks out of his back from a night spent   
on the floor. Time to turn this place into a home,   
he decided. He headed up the stairs to grab a shower   
before going in to join his family.

He met them in the kitchen, Scully was wiping up   
William from his breakfast of oatmeal and bananas out   
of a jar. "Coffee," she was saying out loud, but to   
herself.

"Did you shower?" he asked, giving her a quick kiss   
before picking up his son and swinging him over his   
head. He heard Scully start snort just before he   
felt the baby drool hitting his forehead. "Nice of   
you to warn me," he shot over his shoulder and Scully   
let the giggles out full force.

"Do you need another shower?" she asked him   
seductively.

He grinned at her. "I'd love one, but I'm not into   
being watched. How about we put that on hold until   
nap time and I take the big guy out to explore the   
yard while you get ready to go to town."

"Sounds like a plan," she said with a nod and headed   
to the stairs. She stopped and came back. "Um,   
Mulder, do I get a new identity, too" she asked.

He grinned. "Almost. I decided you wouldn't like   
any name I picked so you keep your own. At least   
your first name. You're Dana Hale. And this big guy   
is William Hale. We're from New York State, in case   
you're wondering, but not originally. I have a   
driver's license for you and a passport if we need   
it."

She didn't bother to hide her confusion. "When did   
you do all this?"

"Well, William's birth certificate is in a safety   
deposit box and I have to send away for the contents   
of that. But I got our license and passports as well   
as the bank accounts after I . . ." He searched for   
the right word. "After you found me the second   
time," he said with a shrug.

"You always knew . . ."

"I didn't know, Scully. I just wanted to keep all   
our options open. The guys did most of it, really.   
They got us the identities. And it was Frohike's   
idea to let you and William keep your real names. Of   
course, I didn't really _want_ to keep my name," he   
said with a grin.

"The guys," she repeated softly. "Oh, Mulder."

He gathered her in his arms, the three of them   
standing in a big hug. "I know, love, I know. I   
miss them, too. Now more than ever."

She wiped at her face. "I think I've cried more in   
the last week," she said with a shake of her head.   
"And lately, it's not all sad," she said stoking the   
baby's soft cheek.

He kissed her on the crown of her head and released   
his hold on her. "Shower," he nodded toward the   
stairs.

She headed off again but was back before he could   
figure out the deadbolt to the back porch.

"Mulder, do we have enough money? I mean should we   
be looking for work?"

"Forty-five million in liquid assets," he said   
casually. "I could liquidate another 50 million if   
necessary. But with the market the way it is, we'd   
be better off waiting unless it's an emergency."

Her eyes grew to saucers and she gasped at the figure   
he'd so easily mentioned. "Mulder, that's, that's .   
. . How? Where?"

"It's a numbered off shore account, Scully. And   
before you get all hysterical on me, it's not mine.   
It was my Dad's. He put the money there a long time   
ago and it grew."

"I should say so," she breathed out.

"Well, when you start with 2 million and don't touch   
it for 4 decades, compound interest is a wonderful   
thing," Mulder smiled, bouncing the baby as if   
telling him how to tie his shoes. "Now, if you don't   
get moving, we might have to sleep on the floor again   
another couple of nights, and I don't think my back   
can take it."

Their first stop the next morning was the bank in Mt.   
Airy. Mulder transferred several thousand dollars   
from his 'checkbook' account into a new account in   
both their names and made arrangements for monthly   
transfers to cover their expenses. Scully wondered   
where his father had gotten the money, but decided   
that was a discussion best left to the privacy of   
their own home. 

 

The consignment shop was next. They found a living   
room suite, complete with a recliner and a rocking   
chair. A dinette set was added to the list the truck   
would deliver the next morning. Scully found a   
dresser and bureau with a matching queen sized   
headboard. Mulder suggested they purchase the   
mattress from one of the furniture stores. All told,   
they furnished most of the house for two thousand   
dollars and change.

All except the baby's room, of course. Scully found   
and promptly fell in love with a crib that converted   
to a youth bed with a dresser on the end. Mulder   
convinced her that the matching changing table was a   
bit too expensive for the short time they'd need it,   
so she settled on getting one at Walmart. It was   
decided that the rocking chair would fit in William's   
room.

Mulder waited till Walmart to search for the office   
furniture. Inexpensive particleboard computer desk   
and a roll chair, a couple of two-drawer file   
cabinets and a futon were quickly placed on order for   
delivery. Scully wisely decided not to question him   
on the futon. Then he headed to the electronics   
department.

Scully bit her tongue as he ogled the projection TV,   
but left to his own devices, he settled on the 32-  
inch model with picture in a picture. There was a   
sale on Hewlett-Packard computers, with an ink jet   
printer and they both nodded in agreement. It took   
another hour or so to gather all the cooking and   
dining utensils they needed and Mulder remembered a   
high chair just before they headed for the checkout. 

They were tired and it was past lunchtime when they   
finally found their way to the car. Mulder mutely   
pointed to a Denny's and she shrugged her shoulders   
in non-commitment. He drove to the parking lot and   
they wearily made their way inside.

William decided his father's French fries were more   
interesting than his strained peas with turkey and   
made no effort to hide his opinion. Mulder indulged   
him and Scully raised her eyebrow. So Mulder   
indulged him again. "Come on, Scully. You're gonna   
have him eating health food and bee pollen in a few   
weeks, let the kid live a little."

She shook her head but held back a smile that Mulder   
could see at the corners of her eyes.

With William changed and all of them fed, they walked   
out into the summer sunshine. Mulder looked around   
and noticed the shop he'd seen when he'd first   
entered the little strip mall where the restaurant   
was located. "One more stop, Scully and then we hit   
the grocery store and head for home." 

She sighed and followed him without comment. By the   
time she was inside the store, it finally dawned on   
her tired brain that they were in a jewelry shop.

"I'm looking at wedding rings. A matched set,   
please," Mulder was saying to the store clerk. 

She looked at him in confusion. "M-m-Ellery? What   
are we doing?"

"We're replacing our rings, sweetheart. I told you   
I'd get you a replacement after they were stolen," he   
lied through his teeth all the time making eye   
contact with her and begging her silently to go   
along.

"Oh, that's really sweet, honey, but the baby is   
tired and we just want to get the shopping done," she   
said firmly, hoping to end this little excursion.

"Oh, babe, look at this one," he crooned as the clerk   
set two boxes of rings on the counter. She chewed on   
her lip, shot Mulder a glare and then moved over to   
look at the rings.

They were beautiful. Simple bands in gold, the   
woman's ring had a small diamond set in the middle.   
She held her breath. Why was he doing this? But   
then, maybe it was just their cover. It would be   
better to go along with the idea than to cause a   
scene. "I really like that one, sweetheart." After   
all, it was just a ring.

The clerk smiled and Mulder asked the price. The   
clerk quickly gave him the total and Mulder wrote out   
a check for that amount from their new account.   
While the clerk was calling the bank to ensure that   
they had sufficient funds to cover the check Scully   
pulled him aside.

"This is for our cover story, right?" she hissed.

He chewed on his lip. "Let's talk outside, OK?"

The ring boxes were in his hands, the receipt stuffed   
in his wallet as they exited the store. Scully was   
silent, giving him looks as he opened the back door   
of the car, slipped the baby in his car seat and got   
in the driver's seat. She got in the car and turned   
toward him.

"What was that all about?" she demanded.

Her tone put him immediately on the defensive. "It's   
time, Scully. Goddamn it, it's time. What? Do you   
expect me to wait until he's grown up and engaged and   
has to explain to his future wife that his parents   
aren't married?"

"Mulder," she ground out, glancing back to make sure   
William was occupied with his favorite toy, a stuffed   
rabbit, and not paying any heed to his parents   
arguing in the front seat of the car. "It would have   
been nice to discuss this," she finished, folding her   
arms across her chest.

"What's to discuss? For some reason, you don't want   
to marry me. You want to spend a life with me, you   
don't mind me being the father of your child or play   
acting at being your husband. You just don't want to   
go the final step and make it official!" Now he was   
mad and he really didn't want to be. He had to take   
a few deep breaths before he could even look her way.   
When he did, he felt two inches tall.

Her face had crumpled into tears, but her steely   
Irish temper was close to the surface. "I have loved   
you for how long? I have shared your bed for how   
long, Mulder? I asked you to be the father of my   
child, didn't I? Then, when you disappeared," a   
quick glance back to their son and she dropped her   
voice to a deadly whisper, "when you disappeared, I   
searched heaven and earth, at the risk of our unborn   
son, to find you. Then I found you but you were   
dead! And I buried you, Mulder. So help me God, I   
didn't think I could survive it, but I lowered your   
body into the ground and I wanted so much to die   
right then, just so I could be with you, but I lived,   
Mulder, I lived because your son was in my body and I   
had to give you that, I had to make sure he was safe   
to carry on that little part of you in the world!   
Now, in my book, I married you on March 6, 1992. If   
that's not good enough for you, you can shove it up   
your ass sideways!"

Mulder sat there mutely through her tirade and for a   
few minutes beyond. "May I at least give you the   
ring, since it's about 10 years late?" he asked   
meekly.

She started to laugh through her tears. "Yeah, I   
guess. And I expect anniversary presents from now   
on, Mulder. If you forget next year, you're sleeping   
on that couch we just bought!"

He pulled the ring from its velvet box and slipped it   
on her finger. "With this ring, I _prove_ that I   
thee wed," he said, improvising just a bit.

She smiled at him, tears still free falling from her   
lashes. She took the sack and found his ring,   
placing it on his finger. "I've always loved you,   
Mulder. I will always love you. That is all there   
is, all there needs to be." Then she leaned over and   
kissed him.

In the back seat, William giggled and clapped.

They broke their kiss and Mulder looked into her   
eyes. "So, what's next on the agenda for an old   
married couple like us?" he asked in a sultry voice.

"We go grocery shopping and then head back home so we   
can drag everything into the house, put it all away   
and sleep on the floor of the living room again," she   
answered with a grin.

He groaned and put the car in drive. "I knew there   
was a reason I was hoping we were newlyweds," he said   
with a sigh.

The end for now.


End file.
